James B. Torrance on prayer

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Click here to listen to several audio lectures from James B. Torrance that address prayer from the perspective of trinitarian/incarnational theology.


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  1. Thanks Ted
    It was revealing and opened my eyes in some areas. Thanks again John

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Can people get out of hell?

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In a previous post titled, Will all be saved?, I noted a question raised by Rob Bell in his controversial book, Love Wins. That question is this: Can people get out of hell? To answer this question, we must consider two others:
Is a person's fate determined permanently at death?If not, on what basis might those in hell get out? Many Christians answer "yes" to question number one. In support of their position they frequently cite Hebrews 9:27, understanding this scripture to assert that upon death, a person is judged and the decision rendered is irreversible.

However, using this passage to make this point is, in my view, questionable. Note that the context is the universal scope of Jesus' substitutionary, atoning work, which he did "once for all" (Hebrews 9:26). He does not accomplish this work at some future time (such as some point prior to or including the moment of our death). Also, note that Hebrews 9:27-28 points forward to a future time when Jesus wil…
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Does everyone have the Holy Spirit?

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[updated 3/13/2017]

A key understanding of incarnational Trinitarian theology, is that God has included everyone in his love and life through the incarnation, life, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus and through what Jesus did at Pentecost in pouring out the Holy Spirit on all humanity. Are we then saying that all people have the Holy Spirit? There are several issues at work here, which I'll briefly address in this post.


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Theology and Biblical Studies - What's the Difference?

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A brief history of biblical studies
The early church taught the gospel, and educated pagans said, “Oh really? How does that work?” Some of the pagans wanted to ridicule people who believed the gospel about a crucified hero; others were genuinely interested.

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This post continues a series examining key points of Andrew Purves' book Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation. For other posts in the series, click a number: 1, 2, 3, 4. 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.

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The nature of our union with Christ

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How big is hell?

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GCI President Joseph Tkach answers a question that many people ask. This post appeared originally in GCI Weekly Update.

Unless my wife Tammy is traveling with me, most of my seatmates on planes don't seem to want much conversation---especially after they ask, “What do you do?,” and I reply, "I’m a pastor." But when I say "I supervise missionary work," more conversation often ensues.

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Ministry: sharing in what Jesus is doing

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This post continues a series looking at The Shape of Practical Theology by Trinitarian theologian Ray S. Anderson. For other posts in the series, click on a number: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10. 11,12, 13, 14, 15.

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Question on John 3:36

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I was sent the following question:
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This post is quoted, with permission, from the Church-Next Training course manual published by Church Multiplication Ministries (CMM), GCI's U.S. church planting arm. The manual was written by CMM national coordinator Randy Bloom. In this section of chapter one, he helpfully outlines the essential (though often overlooked) link between theology and mission.


The Trinity: Loving Communion According to Scripture, there is one God who reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; three distinct yet unified Persons sharing the same essence, nature, and will. Father, Son, and Spirit live in a perfect, mutually dependent relationship of love. An ancient theological term used to describe this loving communion is perichoresis. Perichoresis attempts to express the interpenetration and co-inherence of the three persons of the Trinity. Perichoresis refers to the eternal “movement of love between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” which is expressed in the outworking of God’s purpos…
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